Budding engineers in Blarney are building robots with Lego

LEGO Cork will be represented in the all-Ireland finals of the First Lego League by the ‘Brickbusters’ of Scoil Mhuire in Blarney following the regional final of the competition which has just been held in the UCC hub.

The First Lego League is a major global programme that introduces science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through fun, hands-on learning in a competition that challenges young people to design, build and programme robots using Lego.

It is a collaboration between LearnIT, UCC’s School of Engineering and the Engineers Without Borders Student Society with Qualcomm providing direct support for the project.

Seven teams of students from five schools took part in the Cork regional final in UCC and they were judged across four areas – presenting an innovation project, discussing their robot design and strategy, performing in a robot game and demonstrating core values.

As well as the winning team from Blarney, there were also teams from Coláiste Daibhéid, Gaelcholáiste Mhuire, Christian Brothers College in Cork City and St. Colman’s College in Fermoy.

Dr Emanuel Popavici of the UCC School of Engineering and Architecture said the enthusiasm and talent displayed by the participating students had been captivating.

“They are the budding engineers and STEM leaders of tomorrow who will solve society’s biggest challenges,” said Dr. Popavici.

Mervyn Hogan of Learn IT Cork said that it was great to see the county represented in the competition which, he added, was a great way to engage young people in problem-solving, teamwork and really practical STEM applications through Lego. Qualcomm Engineering VP Paul Kelleher described the First Lego League as “one of the best STEM events’ in the calendar” saying it was “a great day for the schools who attended, the pupils, the teachers, LearnIT team and the volunteers.”